The Scary Hours of the Waiting Game

One of the most annoying things about being a senior in college or high school is having people constantly remind you that in a few months you’re leaving as if you had forgotten. Every underclassman and faculty member I meet ask about what the next phase of my life is going to be like commencement is around the corner even though it’s only the second week of classes. For my finance and accounting peers who came into senior year with a job and those who got sales jobs first semester, the next few months consist of them functioning on autopilot waiting to land while myself and every other senior that don’t have jobs yet are still experiencing some turbulence on our flights. Just four years ago I was in a similar state of mind applying to colleges regular decision and hustling to get all of the paperwork done for financial aid. For any high school seniors hoping that things get easier once they’re in college or thinking that nothing is more crazier than the college application process, I got some bad news but the job hunt is a bigger beast than the CSS Profile or SATs. The good news is that once you learn how to manage your time effectively to finish your college applications while being assigned homework, then you’ll be able to transfer those skills with you into applying to full time jobs. I remember that back in high school I used any free time after school or in my college advising class to focus on whatever forms I needed to complete that week and I set up deadlines for myself to get it done by. In order not to become consumed by anxiety I tried to ease my stress by keeping myself busy either with homework at school or playing video games when I went home. Some people have different ways of staying on track of applying to colleges whether they may utilize planners, post it notes, or just getting everything done in the last few weeks but one of the things everyone has to find when applying to colleges or jobs is a healthy way to deal with the anxiety they have waiting for a response.

There’s not a specific formula when it comes to waiting back for interviews other than finding something to occupy your time whether that is through socializing with friends or delving into a hobby but I know for a fact that worrying over what the response might be until it comes isn’t going to help. Not going to lie, but when I was a senior in high school just waiting playing the waiting game this time of the year I was jealous of my friends who had got admitted early decision to their “dream school” and the only way I could push the jealousy out of my mind is by focusing on my school work. Once I finally got all of my acceptance letters and committed to a school, I ended up crushing it in my classes so well that I hit my final exams and ap exam out of the park. While I never played any organized sports in high school I find that the college application process and job search process reminds me of practicing to be a homerun hitter or three point shooter. There is a period of a lot of frustration where you might begin to doubt your abilities but if you keep at it and just focus on finding your rhythm then all the hard work pays off and everyone finally gets to see what you’re made of. If there was one thing I wish I could have told myself four years ago as a high school senior stressing out about applying to colleges is that I shouldn’t worry about when I would find out where I would be going but I should have focused on how I could get the best college experience no matter where I went. All of last semester I was worried about getting the job search done as soon as possible and am still focused on landing a role before graduation, but it was only during this past Winter Break that I thought I needed to worry less about where I’ll be after graduation but how to be the best version of me no matter the job I have. In a few years, I’ll look back and find it silly about how I worried about getting a job because in the grand scheme of things I’ll be guaranteed a job no matter what because my degree is Boston College while those who didn’t have the chance to attend college can’t say the same thing. In a few years time the people reading this article will look back the same way at their younger selves worrying about what school they’ll get into as we’re all the fortunate ones who had the opportunity to rise above the circumstances we came from. When that time comes in the near future, we’ll forget the worries of the past and should be focusing on helping the next generation of underrepresented and underprivileged students to reach their potential in society.